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Month: December 2015

I hope everyone had a peaceful and wonderful holiday! We are feeling rested, festive, and happy ❤️ I’m so excited to share this transformation with you!

Nature inspires me most, for sure. This picture posted by my local ASCP stockist, Rusty Hinges, started my fern obsession. I don’t know why; the pic was blurry and I could only see 1/2 the ferns….but, I had an immediate vision of a huge fern on a dresser. I saved this pic and waited for the perfect dresser to come up. Here’s the pic from Rusty Hinges: Months later, I found this dresser for a steal on Kijiji! Solid elm & pine wood, and the former owner said approximately 90-100 years old. The frame needed wood filler in a few spots, but the drawer fronts were pristine. I knew I wanted to paint on bare wood because I saw ferns painted on wood in a dresser by Rachel from Shades of Blue Interiors. I liked the color of the elm already -so I knew it was perfect for what I had in mind. Yay! I finally got around to painting this dresser over the holiday. I find Christmas a soothing time of the year -family all around and great food. I tried to take a break from painting, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to get back in my cozy little studio. So, I poured a glass of wine & pulled up my saved picture for inspiration. Having never painted ferns before, I practiced first on my sketch pad. Yup, I could do it! I got out my chalk and did a rough design on the drawers as a loose guide.

My favorite paint is by Annie Sloan, it gives an extraordinary finish and the colors are wow. I decided to use Country Grey for the frame and Old Ochre for the ferns. This type of painting is my fav. It’s therapeutic and I get lost in what I’m doing. It took me 3 hours to paint in the ferns. I loved every minute.

Finishing touches:

Slight distressing

Glass knobs from Home Depot:

And, AS clear wax on the paint, and Miss Mustard Seed Hemp Oil ragged on the natural wood to rejuvenate & brighten. It was my first time using hemp oil and it worked really, really well 🙂

I got to photograph the final look in sparkling snowstorm light! Here it is!

I’ve got to tell you, this might be my favorite makeover yet. I find it tranquil & soothing to look at. And, I can’t believe I brought my vision to life! What a reward for my labour of love. My best friend scooped this beauty up as the first piece of furniture she’s purchased for her new dream home. I feel so honoured and grateful for that. A perfect ending for the Fern dresser 😊

Like this:

One of my favorite transformations to date! When I found this dresser, I saw so much potential. I carried it home from a prestigious home in the south end of our city and the former owner told me it was from the 1960’s. With that orange finish, I wasn’t surprised 🙂 This dresser was destined for beachy elegance. I painted it in Cream, Aubusson Blue & Paris Grey from the Annie Sloan paint collection. Once it had all the coats, I used Old White to free hand paint in the leaves as trim on the drawers.

Then, I sanded the Paris Grey to reveal the Cream underneath on the drawers. I added glass knobs from Home Depot.

Next, I white washed the sides of the dresser in Old White for the beachy, airy feel.

I kept the top & side frames solid grey. I absolutely LOVED the finished look. A client from Facebook wanted a creamy, smaller dresser so I offered it to her first & she scooped it up. I was so happy she loved it! It was the perfect look for her seaside home.

Like this:

Hello, hello! I hope you’re all enjoying the coziness of your homes at this time of year. I can’t believe how fast Christmas is approaching, but I love coming home to holiday cheer & decor. Here’s a little peek at my living room.

I’ve been having an amazing time here at The Little Red Door. I’m not sure if it’s the time of year, but I’m feeling inspired and happy. It’s great for productiveness! There are so many wonderful treasures out there, just waiting for an update so they can be enjoyed for many more years to come. I’m in love with the small part I play in keeping our collective footprint on the earth that much smaller through upcycling 🙂
I acquired this antique side table a while ago. It had square nails & tongue and groove in the drawer. It had been updated over the years with new stain, hardware & wood filler here and there. I loved it!

A client from Facebook was looking for a side table for their dining room finished in whites, and liked the look of this one. I agreed it could work well. I painted it in colors from (my favorite) the Annie Sloan line: Pure White base & Old White top coat. I did the trim & highlights in Country Gray.

As sometimes happens, the table took a detour from how I initially envisioned it. It had many dings & dents, and a bowed leg. For this reason, it distressed heavily even though I used a fine grit sand paper & a light touch, because the paper caught on all the imperfections. Also, the color turned from white to cream, almost yellow actually; I had envisioned white. I had purchased pewter hardware for it that did not look good. I wasn’t satisfied at all. I set it aside and looked at it for the next two days. Finally, inspiration hit: The table reminded me of a stack of beautiful Antique letters I’d come across in a trunk while out antiquing!!! I wish I had taken a photo of them, but google images will give you the gist. The coloring of the table is a perfect match to the antique white look of the old letters, so are the battered (but beautiful) edges. I decided to run with the sudden inspiration. I found an awesome graphic (or ten, lol!) that I LOVED on the Graphics Fairy. I printed it, fit it together, and carefully & painstakingly transferred the image to the table top.

I painted in the design by hand in black paint.

Then I re-waxed, lightly sanded, and added reclaimed French-looking hardware that I brushed in Graphite & Old White.

Voila!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this and are inspired to reclaim your own furniture!